{"id":35157,"date":"2013-02-20T06:27:23","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T11:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=35157"},"modified":"2013-02-21T08:02:42","modified_gmt":"2013-02-21T13:02:42","slug":"blackjack-billy-a-band-thats-difficult-to-pigeonhole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2013\/02\/20\/blackjack-billy-a-band-thats-difficult-to-pigeonhole\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackjack Billy: Difficult to pigeonhole"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/<\/strong>independent feature writer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Blackjack Billy will be appearing at the Black Swamp Bistro this Saturday evening. (photo provided)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Take a dash of rock and roll, stir in some blues, and toss in a taste of hip-hop. Blend with a heaping spoonful of country and you\u2019ve got Blackjack Billy, the country duo that\u2019s been tearing up the Nashville circuit as of late.<\/p>\n

The two lead singers (yes, there are two), Rob Blackledge and Nolls Billings, have brought their unique sound to the country stage, and, this Saturday, they\u2019ll show it off for locals at the Black Swamp Bistro. If you\u2019re coming to the show, Blackledge had two words of advice. \u201cBe ready,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cWe\u2019re going to bring it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re bringing to Van Wert is the same unique sound that has taken the country music industry by storm. Since meeting just over two years ago, Blackledge and Billings have written well over 50 songs together, including fan favorites \u201cBorn to Ride,\u201d \u201cCan\u2019t You See?\u201d and \u201cWorking on You.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duo has also managed to successfully blend two very distinct styles, and producer Jeff Coplan (electric guitar), Patrick Cornell (bass guitar) and Brad Cummings on the drums complete the unique sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like Lynyrd Skynyrd and AC\/DC started a country band,\u201d Blackledge said.<\/p>\n

Both men said it\u2019s flattering to be compared to some of music\u2019s heavyweights, but they also pride themselves on creating their own version of \u201cRedneck Rock\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all else, you want to be unique, and I think we are unique,\u201d Blackledge said. \u201cThe first question we always get is \u2018what do ya\u2019ll sound like?\u2019 My answer is we\u2019re definitely country boys and absolutely love country music with a passion, but we also love rock and roll as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever it is, it\u2019s working. The band has been touring just about every weekend, and this summer Blackjack Billy will be playing live just down the road in Fort Loramie during Country Concert in the Hills 2013. For the group, it\u2019s a chance to keep doing what they love \u2026 playing music and meeting people who appreciate their music.<\/p>\n

Whether they\u2019re playing the stage in front of tens of thousands of people, or gathering together in an intimate setting such as the Black Swamp Bistro, one thing is certain. They\u2019re going to put on a show. \u201cI\u2019ve always said it doesn\u2019t matter if we\u2019re playing for five people or for twenty thousand people, we\u2019re going to crank up the amps and have a whole hell of a lot of fun on stage,\u201d Blackledge said.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019ve done. The last year has been a big one for the band, which has shared the stage with Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doobie Brothers, Lady Antebellum, One Republic and Tonic. It wasn\u2019t long before Nashville icon Tony Conway came knocking to serve as the band\u2019s manager. The duo was quickly signed to Nashville insider Doug Howard\u2019s new publishing company Vandermont Music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I knew when we got together and heard the music for the first time that we were onto something and it was something good,\u201d Billings said, adding, \u201cso we just kind of rolled with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With two lead singers, the band provides a \u201ctwo-for-one\u201d deal, something that differentiates them from other country bands. \u201cThe majority of country duos truly only have one lead singer, but we both sing 99 percent of the shows,\u201d Billing said, adding \u201cwe just go at it the whole time and I tell ya, it\u2019s a lot of fun for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Utilizing two lead singers also allows the band to focus on each member\u2019s individual strengths. \u201cEverybody kind of does their own thing, then someone will do something cool and we roll with it,\u201d Blackledge said. \u201cIt really became our own unique sound and we really liked what we were hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apparently, their fans do too. Blackjack Billy shows are packed with energy and a whole lot of hootin\u2019 and hollerin\u2019 from the crowd. With an exploding fan base, one might think nerves would settle in before shows. Not for these guys. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to get up there on stage when you know you\u2019ve got four other dudes you know are going to absolutely kill it,\u201d Blackledge said. \u201cIf anything, I get antsy and excited and ready to go. Just talking about it right now, I can\u2019t sit still. I just wanna go play a show.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s life on the road for Blackjack Billy, and it\u2019s a life they\u2019ve come to know \u2013 and love.\u00a0 \u201cI think even if any of us weren\u2019t doing what we\u2019re doing now, we\u2019d still be traveling,\u201d Billings said. \u201cI mean, what\u2019s not to love? We get to get out and meet people like ya\u2019ll who love music. And we get to make money doing what we love. It\u2019s a passion for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blackledge agreed, and said the band has now gotten into somewhat of a normal routine. \u201cExcept our routine typically starts on Thursday or Friday morning when we\u2019re hopping on a bus and driving to a city somewhere,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re on the road for a few days, and then we rest up a little bit, write a couple songs and get back into the studio. Before you know it, we\u2019re hitting the road again.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that can\u2019t come soon enough for their fans.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the Van Wert show are selling fast, and are available at www.visionarypromotions.org<\/a>.\u00a0 The band is hoping for a big crowd, but it will be an exciting show no matter how many people are in the crowd. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely high-energy, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Blackledge said.<\/p>\n

Before they hop on stage, though, the band will go through their typical pre-performance rituals. \u201cYou know, all the voodoo dolls and blood and stuff,\u201d Billings said with a laugh. \u201cActually, we\u2019re all pretty normal guys. Nothing fancy here.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the duo, that means a couple of beers and a quick conversation about who won what game that day. \u201cReally, we might just sit around and talk about who\u2019s playing football or basketball that day,\u201d Blackledge said, adding, \u201cwe just do what we do and we have a lot of fun doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if all else fails, \u201cIt\u2019s a Saturday night ya\u2019ll,\u201d Blackledge said. \u201cSo we need some people ready to come out and cut loose with us. We like to celebrate and have a good time. That\u2019s what we\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/independent feature writer Take a dash of rock and roll, stir in some blues, and toss in a taste of hip-hop. Blend with a heaping spoonful of country and you\u2019ve got Blackjack Billy, the country duo that\u2019s been tearing up the Nashville circuit as of late. The two lead singers (yes, there are two), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-28 05:34:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35157\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}